


La Nymphe Au Coeur Fidele

by Arutyh



Category: Original Work
Genre: Developing Friendships, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Fantasy, Fluff, Other, Young Adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 20,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arutyh/pseuds/Arutyh
Summary: A sprite meets a human girl in the woods, and two lonely hearts join together as one.
Relationships: Clay & Maybella, Clay/Maybella





	1. Chapter 1

The morning sun shot through the hallowed cracks of the dead oak tree, stinging slightly on my eyes. I forced myself to get up, knowing full well the swarm would scold me if I dared to get in another five minutes of sleep. “A sprite can die in five minutes or five seconds!” I recall one elder saying once. But this is life; hide, fly, sleep, repeat. We can live long lives by relying on numbers, that’s why the bigger a swarm the greater chances its members will get to see death by old age, and not, well, by anything else that can kill us.

I crawled my way out through one of the larger cracks, now in full sunlight noticing some of the other sprites coming out of their own hiding spots for the night. Most had tried to stay in the surrounding trees but a few of the (unlucky) others were forced to find cover on the ground. No one had died it seemed. A long sounding whistle broke through my thoughts, signalling everyone to get into flight stance. Everyone grouped together, each individual taking hold of someone else’s hand, the end result resembling a long, winding, crisscrossing snake, if said snake had insect wings in place of scales. I noticed the person on my right was Asper, a middle-aged dusk glow female who’d been unlucky the night a pack of bats found us. Her left wing was unnaturally bent at the top, almost hanging off slightly and looking worse than the initial day of the attack. She might not make it to the next resting spot, it’s certainly a miracle she’s made it this long considering a sprite’s wings can never heal once broken.

An inspector flew overhead everyone, checking that we would be ready for flight soon. Asper ducked her wings down, forcing them as flat as she could against her body. The inspector gave the okay and another long whistle could be heard through the air. The insect-winged snake began to glow as we took to the air, the collective energies of every sprites’ magic aiding everyone in staying airborne. This allowed even the weaker flyers to stay caught up with everyone else, and prevented those who were too fast for their own good from getting too far ahead.

Minutes soon turned to hours of drifting swiftly through the air. We had travelled a good distance during that time and found ourselves nearby a small lake at this point. Travelling not much further from it we halted, at the sound of another long whistle we split up, knowing it was time to search out food. However, once the other sprite who had been holding Asper’s opposing hand took off, I soon found myself off-balance in the air, Asper gripping tightly at my forearm, greatly struggling to stay a flight. I didn’t have much choice as I flew down to land on the nearest surface, the effort made difficult with Asper.

I set her down first before landing myself. She looked visibly tired, that last flight having finally worn her out. Neither of us spoke, both of us sort of knowing what was about to happen.

She looked up at me slowly, a calm defeat heard in her voice, “You noticed before we left, but didn’t speak.”

“You thought you could make another flight, which you did,” I said in all truth.

She sort of smiled at that to herself; a small victory before her final defeat. In short time the grey glow elder, Naswick flew in to greet us, her face stern, “Asper, can you still fly?”

Asper, swiftly getting up, made one final attempt at negotiating with the elder, “With the swarm I can fly, Elder.”

Naswick frowned at her, “Can you fly with your own two wings, Asper?”

Defeat clear as day in her face, “No, Elder.”

The elder shook her head slightly, “Hand over your sword and bow, Asper.” Asper removed her bow and the short sword which hung from her waist, giving them over to the elder. Naswick inscribed a rune onto both items, even without reading magic I knew what the rune said; Fallen Asper. “Go now, and may your journey to the next plane be gentle on your wings, dear Asper.”

Asper bowed her head deeply in respect, glancing at me as she rose up before turning around and began walking away from us, heading in a direction only the gods could know.

Naswick stayed silent as she watched Asper walk away; it was a part of the tradition surrounding the dismissal of an injured sprite, well, when the sprite _could_ walk, if not then the elder would walk away. When Asper was out of sight she finally broke her line of sight with where Asper had disappeared into the grass, instead focusing it on me. Her gaze seemed even harsher with me than it had been with Asper, a part of me fearful of what she was going to say. I could feel my cyan-tinted glow dim significantly, a usual response to fear.

The elder tilted her head slightly, studying me, but her expression still stern. “Clay.”

“Yes?”

“Cast your lights for me.”

“What?”

“Cast your lights,” she said fiercely.

I did as she asked, creating multiple tiny orbs of light in varying colours, lighting up the surrounding area significantly in the dim evening. Naswick approached one of the lights, seemingly taking it into her hands and peering into the dim light. Her eyes shifted back and forth, almost as though she was studying something which moved within the light source. She released the small orb, moving over to do the same thing to another one, repeating this a second and third time. It took me a few moments to realize what she was doing, as I’d never had the honour to have it done for me before. Light reading is one of the few forms of magic that sprites are the inventors of, mainly because it can only really be applied _to_ sprites, though I’ve heard other creatures can create their own lights as well.

She read through a few more, the one she was currently on resembled a shade of coral. Oddly it seemed to be the only pink one among all the casted lights. Her stern face softened into one of surprise for a brief moment, I think at least. It was very quick and I didn’t manage to get a good look at the time. Her face resumed its usual appearance, to say the least.

“Dispel them. We don’t wish to attract any predators,” and with that she flew off, giving a look that I could only guess meant ‘go do what you’re supposed to be doing.


	2. Chapter 2

The search went mildly successful for my part. Coming across what must have been a very plentiful acorn tree, if it weren’t for the fact that while I was delayed it was nearly picked clean by the rest of the swarm. There was still enough left on it though that I wouldn’t seem like a total incompetent fool when I’d return.

Picking off whatever was left on the tree I arrived late to the actual feast. Dropping off my share in one of the off-shoot piles of food someone must have lazily started, I went and sat down beside some of the other sprites who’d gathered around a small collection of casted lights, waiting like everyone else for the food to be counted and divided equally. Half-heartedly I listened to the conversation happening around me.

“Okay Fernibis, you can’t tell me that I was the only one who felt all that good energy radiating from the elven battlefield!” piped a young female with an autumn glow. I recognized her as Itumn. 

“By no way am I saying you’re the only one who felt it! I’m saying it wasn’t _unusual_ ,” replied the rust glow male she was addressing.

“Why’s that?”

Fernibis gave an exasperated sigh, likely this wasn’t the first time one of the younger ones came to him with questions, “The battlefield is where all them glistenwings hang around. All their good energy permeates the area even after they travel off wherever. Thankfully they’ve never bothered us. I’ve heard they can’t detect our energies.”

“I heard they can only detect those whose hearts have turned sinister,” added a lilac glow female. Cali I believe her name was.

“Well that’s good to know,” said Fernibis.

“But why do they even go there, Fernibis? _We_ go because the sky is always clear, bright and makes travel easier, but other than that what good is being there?”

“Do you feel like asking _them_ , Itumn? By all means, go ahead-”

“ _Fernibis!_ Don’t even _suggest_ that to her!” Cali was visibly angry by Fernibis’ words, “We can’t have the young ones thinking it’s fine to approach the other races that nonchalantly!”

Finally, someone came around with our shares of the gathered food. By the outer planes, I _pray_ this settles the steam between everyone.

Fernibis, after receiving his portion, seemed to calm down now, his face showing guilt in the words he’d spoken, “You’re right. I’m sorry for that.” 

Itumn shifted uncomfortably on the fallen twig she was sitting on. Feeling like it was best not to ask Fernibus any more questions, she asked to no one in particular, “So where do the glistenwings come from?”

“Itumn, I’ll answer your question if you start eating now, okay, hun? You’ll need it for the flight later,” said a warm red glow female, Lubi her name was. Based on her quietness until now, I’m assuming she was in the same position as I was. Itumn nodded, allowing Lubi to carry on, “You’ve already heard that every sprite is born from a Latet flower found within the forests, correct? Well, from what I’ve heard, every glistenwing is born from a star within the sky, which is why their wings are so much brighter than ours, and how they got their names.”

“But wouldn’t… that make them easier to be hunted down by predators?” Itumn attempted to say in-between swallowing. 

“Exactly, which is why they’re always on the move. _We_ at least get to relax every so often!”

Cali sighed, “Alright, enough talk about the glistenwings, I think we’ve heard plenty on the topic as it stands,” she glanced around at everyone, “Anyone got anything else to share?”

Fernibus, who’d been quietly eating until now, spoke up, “I heard someone tabooed recently,”

All eyes turned to him, most prominently Lubi’s eyes, which seemed to almost fall out of their sockets, “ ** _You’re kidding!_ **Who?!”

“I don’t know who done it, but I heard that they were found out after one of the Elders read their lights-”

I felt a piece of walnut get stuck in my throat when he said that, the urge to cough swiftly followed. Luckily I managed to get it down without attracting too much attention.

Lubi seemed puzzled, “You’re not saying that they’re gonna start punishing us for taboos we’ve yet to commit are they?”

Fernibis shook his head, “Nah, the way I heard it was when they went and used their magic it showed signs that they’d gone and tainted it with another swarm’s magic.”

“ _Pff_ , there’s never any good that comes from betraying your swarm like that,” Lubi said as she broke her chestnut in half, “What happened to them?”

“If I remember the taboo levels right… I believe that counts as a sixth tier taboo, so I’m going to go on a guess and say they must’ve been clipped.”

Itumn looked scared when he said that, “That’s when they tear off your wings and leave you behind, right?”

Lubi looked at her sympathetically, “Yep, that’s right. Don’t worry though, I know you, Itumn. You don’t have a bad thought in you.”

“But what about-” Itumn began, but at that moment a whistle broke through the bustling chatter created by the entire swarm, signalling everyone to finish their meals and prepare for the next flight soon.

“Ask more questions later, Itumn,” Lubi said with a smile, “We’ve gotta get ready.”

Everyone got up and left, finishing whatever food they still had as they did so. I found myself alone, the small cluster of glowing orbs acting as a slight form of luminescence in the dim night. Without thinking about it I reached my hand out to try and grab at one of them. As expected my hand caught nothing; the orb simply melting away into a twinkling vapour. Getting up from my seat, I couldn’t help but wonder how the Elder had succeeded at holding them as I walked towards the rest of the swarm.


	3. Chapter 3

Steadily flying through the night, everyone was supposed to stay on guard, including myself. However, one of the reasons why I’d always preferred the night flights to the day ones was the sky. During the day, the sky is always bland to look at, no matter the weather. At night one can enjoy the diversity the sky has to offer; the changing constellations, the odd galaxy, the occasional falling star. Considering sprites have incredible lifespans, if luck favours them, one can see a lot of change in the night sky during their life. I found myself counting how many constellations I could recognize from my viewpoint when, in what seemed like no time at all, it came time for us to land again. 

I managed to get a good look at the area as everyone came in to land; we stopped just outside a decently dense forest, one that seemed to have been around for a very long while, as every so often one could spot the dense foliage of an old, yet very much thriving, oak tree. The forest itself wasn’t very wide, as I noticed the encroachments of a human town off in the distance, but from where I flew the forest seemed to stretch over a large territory nonetheless. 

Finally, the swarm landed safely and dispersed, everyone searching out somewhere to hole up for the night. Luckily I’ve always been decently adept at finding safe enough places for that, even after all the obvious good spots get taken. This area however had a _ton_ of hiding spots, a lot more than the small woods we had to make do with the night before. In no time I found a hole some termites had left in one of the trees, the termites themselves long gone but the hole still stood. Peering past the bark after managing my way inside, I could see the slight beginnings of dawn approaching in the sky. It was going to be another short rest it seemed. 

About to try and gain any sleep I could, I noticed some of the elders speaking among themselves on the ground, recognizing Naswick’s glow among them. Concluding sleep was more important than whatever business the elders were attending to I lay back, feeling my head clear of all thoughts. 


	4. Chapter 4

I couldn’t help waking up feeling nothing short of miserable. My mind had just been way too active the previous night it seems. Rubbing the sleep, or lack thereof, from my eyes, I glanced out, realising it was still decently early, much earlier than I would have normally been awake. Figuring my only options were either to stay inside the tree until the sun was fully out, or venture outside, I took a gamble with the latter. 

Stepping out of the tree I allowed my wings to catch the damp morning wind, causing me to shudder mildly as I glide through the air. Summer would be ending soon, which wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the sky turning increasingly blander as winter would approach. Even if the swarm would migrate further south to avoid the harshest part of the weather, that time of the year still has a persistent tendency to make me feel lonesome. I tended to miss seeing the clear night sky during the cloudier days. 

Two red glows caught my attention, and decided on a whim to land beside where they were located. Itumn and Lubi smiled at me in surprise.

“ _Hey!_ You’re up early!” Itumn said cheerfully. 

I shrugged, “Not by choice, really. Why are you two up though?”

“I’m trying to explain to Itumn the details of the dust ceremony,” Lubi replied, patting Itumn on the head, “It can be so difficult to find the time to explain these sorts of things to the young ones, you know?” 

Crossing my arms I gave a slight nod, “That’s tomorrow night, right?”

Itumn nodded, “I can’t wait to be able to fly on my own! I mean, I can sort of do it, but I’m not as good as the mature sprites…” she took a moment to ponder, then excitedly asked, “What was yours like?”

I should have expected that question, but Itumn still surprised me when she asked it, “I… don’t remember too much of it, actually. I was part of a large group of young ones at the time, so we were just hurriedly done all together I guess.”

“Ahh, let me guess, you were from a shrub seed like I was. I was from a rhododendron.”

“I was a marigold!” Itumn replied proudly.

“Heh, no, actually. I was a springstar, so I was alone when I awoke. I just happened to be close to a lot of dandelion sprites at the time, I think.” For some reason, I felt embarrassed talking about my latet flower. 

Itumn tilted her head, “Springstar? What’s that one look like again?”

Lubi rolled her eyes, messing up Itumn’s hair with her hand playfully, “Itumn, I thought I taught you that already! They’re the blue ones we passed by yesterday. You _know?_ ”

“...Near the battlefield?” 

“There you go, Itumn!” Lubi said, her pride for Itumn obvious, then turning to me she continued “Speaking of, I would have never guessed you were a springstar, umm…”

“Clay, and don’t worry about it. My glow’s a bit off I realize.”

Lubi looked slightly embarrassed, “Oh, no, no! I didn’t mean it like that. It’s particular, sure, I’ll admit, but I’ve seen _much_ worse in my time.”

I could tell what she was trying to say, but it still didn’t change the way she phrased it. “Thanks… I guess?”

Lubi nodded, still slightly flustered. Itumn looked slightly confused, then suddenly reverted back to her inspirited state, “Wait a tick, you were beside us at the feast yesterday!” she proclaimed, pointing at me. 

I mildly chuckled at that, “Yes, I was. There was you, Lubi, Fernibus and Cali there.”

Lubi looked at me puzzledly, “Wait, you remembered all our names?”

“Yeah. I know most of the swarm’s names”

She raised her eyebrows, “ _Wow_ … I know we’re not the biggest swarm out there but that’s quite a feat.”

I shrugged in response. Looking up, it didn’t take much effort to see that the sun was fully out now, “We should probably get ready for formation soon.”

Lubi looked up, verifying my statement, “Ah _shoot._ Sorry about that Itumn, m- I got distracted from telling you about the ceremony there.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I got to tell someone else about my latet flower!” Itumn proclaimed excitedly.

Chuckling, Lubi stated, “She just loves to tell everyone. Not even sure why though. I mean, I know her root sprites put a lot of thought into her seed, but still.”

Noticing a few of the other sprites exiting their shelters for the night, I couldn’t help but feel a slight pain in my chest when I replied to Lubi quietly, “You may want to try hiding your ‘connection’ to Itumn a bit better. Roots aren’t supposed to influence their seeds, you know.”

A moment of fear flashed in Lubi’s face, “You’re not going to-”

I shook my head, “No. But if I caught on someone else might. Even if it’s only a level twelve... I’m sure neither of you would want the punishment for it.”

Itumn looked slightly concerned at both of us, tugging at Lubi’s hand, “We didn’t do something bad, did we?” At this point we heard the usual whistle sound off.

Lubi shook her head, a smile back on her face, “Nah, don’t fret about it, Itumn.” she said, taking Itumn’s hand. As the two of them headed towards where the rest of the swarm was gathering, Lubi turned back towards me, whispering, “Thank you.”

Nodding, I smiled at her as they flew off. Glancing over the gathered swarm, I spotted a point in the chain where I could join in, taking off to go join everyone. On my left was Cali, surprisingly, though neither of us exchanged any words. Further ahead I spotted Lubi and Itumn together, Fernibus being not too far from them. 

It took me a moment to realize that there hadn’t been any inspectors who flew overhead yet. Odd, unless I’d been too distracted from something. I looked at Cali, who also seemed inquisitive as to what was going on. 

Finally, after a good moment, an inspector flew past us. However, I noticed two of the elders were flying alongside them, glancing about. The three of them stopped mid-flight, discussing amongst themselves briefly. With the natural noise of the swarm it was impossible to make out what they were saying. Naswick flew up to them, annoyed with the other three sprites. She shook her head, assertively holding out her hand in the inspector’s direction. The female inspector looked surprised, but regretfully handed something over to Naswick. When Naswick brought it to her mouth and the loud sound of a horn split the air I realized what it was. 

The entire swarm quieted.

“Alright, let’s make this quick! Any lollygagging and I’ll expect twice as much food come next feast!” Naswick shooted in annoyance, “All blue and green glows, I call you to come forth!”

Cali looked at me oddly as I let go of her hand. Without even looking I knew for sure I wasn’t the only sprite getting an odd look right now. Flying up into the air, several other sprites and myself followed Naswick’s orders cautiously. Blue and green glows certainly weren’t the majority of our swarm, but there were still at least several dozen of us.

Naswick said something to the two elders and the inspector, to which all four of them started flying about to each of the sprites who had gathered. After briefly talking with either one of the elders or the inspector, several of the gathered sprites flew back to rejoin the rest of the swarm. 

I sighed to myself, closing my eyes while I fluttered in place. With my lack of sleep, I was honestly too tired to deal with all this. Considering we still had to make the flight, I knew that if this lasted any longer I was going to have a very hard day ahead of me. I just wished all this would hurry up soon. 

“Excuse me, could you open your eyes for me?”

Glowering slightly at the inspector, I peered at her with my aureate eyes, “Yes, what is it?”

She looked surprised when I did so, her yellow glow dimming mildly, “Um, could you follow me please?”

Again, I sighed under my breath. As long as this wouldn’t last too much longer…

The inspector approached one of the elders, “I found one with yellow eyes.”

The emerald glow elder, Laige, looked me up and down, “...Right. Bring him to Naswick.”

I was once again led by the inspector, this time towards Naswick. After the inspector got Naswick’s attention, the elder turned to look at me. 

Without a moment’s hesitation she called out to the remaining sprites who’d gathered, “The rest of you rejoin the swarm, and prepare for take-off soon,” Everyone agreed without complaint, Naswick told the inspector to go finish her inquiry as well. 

I looked apprehensively at the elders, who spoke briefly with each other. Looking down I noticed most, if not all of the swarm was peering up at me, obviously wondering what I could have done. Cali was one step away from glaring at me, Itumn and Lubi were both looking up at me with concern. Folding my arms over my chest I waited for the elders to finally say something, to me at least. 

Naswick, of course, was the first to approach, the two other elders floated just behind her. Naswick began, “Clay, you’ve been summoned here in order to be informed that you can no longer fly with us.” 

I stared back at the elder as she said this, “What sort of humour _is_ this?”

The pale blue elder, Neyan spoke back to me in her calm voice, “It is not because of a taboo we tell you this, it is from-”

I scowled fiercely at the elders, particularly Naswick, “You saw something in my lights, didn’t you?!”

She nodded matter of factly, “Yes.” 

Without intending to, my voice started rising in dismay, “You’re sending me away for something I haven’t even _done?!_ ”

“You must realize that this decision is not one we make without much consideration. For your sake, and the swarm’s,” Laige responded.

At this point I could feel the sense of betrayal rush through me, my words choked with anger, “How in the planes did you even _consider_ my sake in all of this?! You’re going to leave me with nothing and just _assume_ I’ll make it?!” 

“We don’t _assume_ anything Clay; we’re playing our part. Whether you make it or not rests on you.” Naswick said in the coldest of tones. 

I fell silent at the heartless words which stung at my ears. This all felt too surreal, and I didn’t want to believe that this was actually happening. It took me a while to realize that Naswick had continued speaking;

“...Hand over your weapons, Clay.”

Looking up at the elder, I didn’t even try to hide back the hurt in my face as I handed over my bow and shortsword. She inscribed a rune onto both items.

“May your journey to the next plane be gentle on your wings, dear Clay.”

Biting back my lower lip, it was the only thing I could do to control myself as I flew off and away from the swarm, not bothering to look back at any of them as I did so. 

What I hadn’t known at the time was, the two runes which Naswick had inscribed onto both of my weapons had read “Rising Clay.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Maybella. Hey, come on, Bell, wake up.”

“Huh?” My eyes fluttered open, seeing my father standing on the other side of the counter. 

He chuckled, “You stayed up late working on that dress again, didn’t you?”

I stretched my arms out, wincing as my back cracked into place. It wasn’t too hard to conclude I must have dozed off at the shop counter, seeing as my elbows were simply killing me. I replied to my father’s question, “Mr. Thomson wanted that dress for his daughter’s wedding, didn’t he? It’s only a week away, someone’s gotta finish it!”

My father shook his head, “Bell, you need to sleep at night as well, you know. You can’t be sleeping at the counter. Besides, there’s both of us to split the work for that.”

“Yeah, you’re right...” pouting, I continued, “Still, you’re going to leave town soon for a couple of days. I won’t have you around to help out with any of that stuff!”

He sighed, a smile on his face, “Maybella, don’t fret too much about it. I’ll finish up any of the big orders and you should have an easy enough time while I’ll be gone.”

I scowled, “But what am I supposed to do then?!”

Adjusting his glasses, he gave me an honest smile and shrugged, “Pray a customer gives you something to keep you busy?” At this point the shop door opened, Andi Moore stepping in, one of our usuals. My father turned back to me, “You’ve done enough for today, I’ll take over from here.”

“Very well, I’ll see you later,” I said grabbing my overcoat. I waved at my father as I headed for the front door, passing Andi on the way out, “Take care, Andi!”

“Ey! To yee as well, M’bella,” the old dwarf responded to me. Turning back to my father he continued, “Martin! Yee finished with ma order yet?”

I left through the front door just as soon as my father began speaking. Sliding on my coat and looking up, I could see that the mid-afternoon sky was enveloped by decent cloud cover. The atmosphere held a certain gloominess to it, but it wasn’t that bad for this time of year. Snow would only be a month away probably, covering the city in a beautiful sheet of white. 

As soon as this thought came to mind I noticed a beggar huddled midway down the street. Digging into my pocket I realized I had a few coppers on me. Walking up to the tired halfling, I handed them what I had. They gave a weak smile and said something to me in their native tongue. It ached that I could neither understand them nor help them more. Responding in turn with a smile I continued down the walkway. 

I sighed to myself, looking around the street; a couple of shops had small displays out in the open, mostly a small selection of vegetables, though some had other food items strewed about. One elven shopkeeper was bickering with a gnoll. Even from where I stood I could tell what the bickering was about. Humans, like myself, and elves are the only races who could stand a chance at making a living in this town, or most towns in this continent. My father had raised me to be accepting of all people, as you tend to make, and keep, more customers that way. As much as I loved the winter months, I knew that it also spelled out hardships for many others. 

I’m just glad my father and I have been lucky with business over the years.

Walking down the street a few people passed by and waved at me, some of them making small talk as they did so. I did my best at socializing with them, but I really didn’t feel like trying to maintain a conversation with any of them. It’s been my personal goal over the years to uphold a good image for father’s sake, which mainly meant socializing with the other townsfolk and giving off the illusion I was a good-standing citizen. It’s actually funny how much I consider myself to be rather alone in this town, despite keeping up the facade of being a socialite. Perhaps that’s my fault for displaying a mask first when I encounter new people, the one exception being when I help others.. I sighed under my breath. It was a bit late to change that now I suppose… 

Finally making my way out of the inner streets, I found myself near the edge of the city itself. The area around here consisted mainly of a few small houses with not much more to look at. Either way, it wasn’t the city itself that piqued my curiosity so much as it was the landscape that lay beyond. From where I stood I could see a pale green valley stretch out, bordered by the edge of a narrow forest on the left and the ocean itself spread out on the right. Further off, one could see the odd mountain break apart the smooth horizon. From where I stood, it looked like someone had created a painting of the landscape from their imagination first, and a god had decided to make it a reality afterwards. 

Internally I debated whether I should continue gawking at the untouchable scenery or explore the woods which framed our town. Deciding I liked where I was for now, I walked up to the small grassy slope which lay past one of the houses and lay back, gazing up at the sky. Even with my clothes, the cool moisture which clung to the grass was enough to chill me slightly. Not enough to convince me to move from my location though. 

I honestly couldn’t say why I did this to myself sometimes; walking all the way here to gaze upon the unreachable, it just made the longing worse. My father has always said that even as a child I’ve had an adventurous heart, he said it came from my mother apparently. Which would explain why she wasn’t around I guess. Not that I held it that much against her, just I would’ve liked to have known her a bit better all in all. 

Listening to the wind blowing gently, I overheard the sounds of a bard playing off somewhere. After a moment, I realized I recognized the song they played. The lyrics told the tale of a fallen monarch, who went from having everything to nothing after a revolution broke out. The end chorus describes the monarch dying as a commoner in his final days. It occurred to me that I never knew if it was merely a story or if such a monarch once reigned. After a short while, the words of the song began to drift away, till I could no longer hear anything.


	6. Chapter 6

Looking around, I noticed I was inside a tree.

Specifically, it was a hollowed-out section of a tree. It created the illusion of a small room actually. I could sense I was quite small, not much larger than the length of a human hand, which would explain why I could fit in the tree to begin with. 

I couldn’t see very well, everything was dark for the most part. Feeling my way around in the dark, soon enough I found the wall of the tree. Upon closer inspection there appeared to be scratches in the wall. Not those of an animal though, as they were done in a similar way as someone counting out the days would in a jail cell. After a brief moment, I counted at least three months and some days, or ninety-six… whatever was being counted. I could feel my body grow cold slightly. 

_You should probably leave._

Slightly startled, I turned around, attempting to find the source of the words. I didn’t find anyone, however, the interior of the tree was no longer in pitch blackness anymore. Floating orbs of light of various colours and sizes danced around the hollowed trunk, casting a faint glow as they did so. One of them floated past me, and without a moment’s thought I reached out to catch it. Holding the small orb close to me I could see something moving inside it, though whatever it was looked incredibly small, as though I was seeing something from very high up. The orb provided a mild warmth to my incredibly cold hands I realized. 

_You should go now._

The orb died into sparkling dust as soon as the voice spoke again. Before I could look for the source of the voice again I awoke feeling incredibly cold. Looking around, I realized I was still lying on the grassy field outside the town. The sun was nearly setting at this point. Bringing my hands up to rub my face caused me to shiver slightly from their cool touch. I sighed, bringing my hands underneath my arms to try and warm them up. Father had been right about my lack of sleep it seems…

Slowly getting up, I made the light trek back to the town. 


	7. Chapter 7

“I’m home,” I shouted as I stepped back into my father’s shop.

Father came out from the back, some cloth in his hands and a handful of pins held in his mouth, “‘elcome ‘ack, aybella.” Taking a moment to take them out of his mouth he continued, “You were gone a while, everything go well?”

“Yeah, it was just such a nice day out and I wanted to enjoy it,” which wasn’t a complete lie in all honesty. 

He chuckled mildly, “Alright, well if you start dinner I’ll finish up on the wedding dress here.”

I nodded back, “Sure.” In little time I had a stew going on the woodstove, using the steam from the pot to warm my chilled hands. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself as I stood there; even when I napped I somehow found ways of entering into some strange dream or another. It was actually rarer for me to _not_ dream than it was for me _to_ dream. At this point, I’ve dreamed up so many different scenarios that I’ve seen a few of them happen in reality. Like the one time I dreamed of a magnificently feathered indigo dress, then later that same week a customer wanted to order a dress with those exact details. If my family had any magic in them then I may have thought more of my dreams, but my entire paternal bloodline is nothing but your typical artisans, so I tend to chock it up as nothing but a matter of coincidence and probability. 

Realizing my hands were well covered by a thin layer of dampness, and very much warm at this point, I wiped them off on my skirt and examined the stew, verifying it was fully cooked by now. Grabbing two bowls and pouring out a serving in each I went back through the front of the store to go see father in the back. Stepping through the doorway, I made sure to watch where I tread, as multiple layers of linen and some silk were spread out on the floor. 

Father glanced up from the dressmaker mannequin, seeing me with the two bowls, “Thank you, Bell. I’ll eat in a moment.”

I sighed, shaking my head. He said that but “a moment” for him could easily last several hours, “I swear if you let it go cold again I’ll work on that dress myself!” He chuckled at my comment. Either way, I put the bowl down on a clear table and headed upstairs. 

Making a right at the top of the staircase I stepped into my room, sitting down at the small table in the middle of the area. Finishing my meal quickly enough, I put the bowl aside and pulled out something from the chest off in the corner of my room. Eyeing down at the collection of sewn together silkweave, I kept trying to figure out how I could actually do anything with it at this point. 

Awhile back a drow client had walked in with several hundred metres of silkweave, asking us to create several uniforms for a family gathering the client and his brothers were going to attend. None of them knew how to sew, apparently. After finishing the uniforms for them they told us to keep the remaining silkweave, despite the fact my father and I barely used half of it. Silkweave isn’t exactly the sort of thing clients ask us to use regularly (seeing as it’s weaved from giant spider’s silk, some people might get turned off by that), so I asked my father if I could use some of for my own project. Even regular silk is created by a caterpillar, so I don’t see much difference between the two personally; both are beautiful to look at and created by an insect. 

However, at the time, I really didn’t have much of an idea of what to do with the stuff, so I did what came naturally; turn it into a dress. Within time though, as I was working with it, I realized the stuff was incredibly durable, nearly as resilient as leather even. At that moment I decided instead I wanted to turn the dress I’d started on into armour. Whether or not I’d ever need to wear armour wasn’t a concern for me, I just wanted to make it into armour. The inspiration had hit me too hard, and I wanted the thrill of trying something new. Sadly, turning it into a dress had been the easy part, turning it into armour was a new thing altogether. 

I groaned, staring down at my work. It was indeed a beautiful dress; falling just below the knees with frill trim on the bottom skirt, a capelet hiding the shoulders held together with a bow, lace trim on the ends of the sleeves and a voluminous bow situated at the base of the spine. Everything dyed in shades of pink or white. The problem resided with the fact I didn’t want it to _be_ a dress. I’d gotten too much done by the time the idea of turning it into armour dawned on me. 

Technically, sure, it was armour; it had all the properties needed to be armour, except, it was in the shape of a dress. Though, who even heard of someone running around in the heat of combat wearing nothing but a dress? I laughed to myself, if given the chance I’d go out and do that actually, for the hilarity of it all. 

Eyeing the dress over, it looked to be done over-all, but I wasn’t satisfied with it, probably never would be. A part of me didn’t want to show it to my father, actually, I didn’t want to show it to anyone really. They’d compliment it or offer advice as though it were a dress, not as armour. I want it to feel like I _could_ walk into battle in it, even though a part of me still knows that, well, in the end, it’s a dress. 

I glanced over to the small window which stood right over my nightstand, seeing it was already quite dark out. Considering the fact I was still sleep deprived from the other night, I went ahead and resealed the “dress” in my trunk, and settled for sleep. 


	8. Chapter 8

Waking up was a hardship, though not unbearable. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I vaguely recalled the dream I had as I prepared for the day. 

As I was cooking up breakfast, I remembered someone had been crying in my dream, like choked sobs sort of crying. I cracked some eggs onto the pieces of bread in the pan. It was as though I was in a vast, shadowy plane, and their echoed cries were reaching me from somewhere far away. I paused midway through cooking the eggs; actually, it may have been more akin to whoever had been crying had a very quiet voice in general. 

Removing the pan from the stove I put the food onto a pair of plates. Then there was something about a black-haired elven woman who was sitting and drinking tea casually, talking with me calmly, yet very aloof at the same time. She bore an elegant dress made of a brilliant silver fabric, black butterflies etched into it. Somehow, I could remember quite a lot of her words, “We never had this conversation, okay? I don’t like doing this but hey, who's gonna stop me? Lio? Octy?  _ Pfft, _ they haven’t done anything dicey since the Great War everyone got involved in! Ugh, I swear though, I don’t get along with Lia but she did good with stopping that darned thing from continuing. She’s just so… uptight, you know? Like, she’d never be doing what I’m doing right now, okay? She’d always have to ‘have it her way’ and act all high and mighty. Anyway, what was my point… oh yeah: do the right thing, okay? I’m pretty sure you’ll remember that. Though just in case I need to be ominous about it, I’ll swear on Octy’s creepy-ass face that if you let one of my visions die off in the pitiful state they’re in at the moment I’ll bring you to Octy myself if I have to, and that’d just be wasting both our times. Anyway,” and at that point was when I woke up. Her words made no sense to me, even though I knew she’d been speaking in Common.

I brought the two plates to the small dining table which took up a small area in the back of our shop. My father and I used it alternatively as an extra table to work on various orders or as a simple table for when we wanted to eat at. Looking around as I ate, I could see that the dress father had been working on the previous night was now completed, and last night’s bowl of stew mostly eaten. Father arrived down the stairs shortly. 

“Morning, Bell.”

“Good morning, you seem well-rested, oddly.”

He chuckled, fixing his glasses as he joined me at the table, “You’d finished a lot more than I thought you had on the dress there. You allowed me to get some decent sleep last night.” 

I smiled, rising from the chair I’d been sitting at, “And you questioned my abilities.” 

“No, you just find ways to surprise me,” he said earnestly, “Anyway, if you could open up the shop, seeing as you’re done. As promised I’ll finish up the remaining orders today.”

Taking my plate back to the kitchen, then heading up to the front of the shop, I unlocked the doors, tidied the counter and sat back behind it for the next six hours. Today was  _ exceptionally _ slow and quiet. The only exciting thing had been listening to the occasional cutting of fabric my father would do in the back. I did everything I could think of to keep myself occupied; reorganized the shelves, took inventory, cleaned the floors, cleaned the counter, cooked lunch, reorganized the shelves, again. By the time father said I was done for the day I was at the point of re-aligning the pins in a pincushion. I internally thanked father as I bolted out the door. 

This time, however, I figured I may as well play it safe and brought a basket bearing a blanket with me. Not that I felt like napping today, nor did I forget my overcoat, but this time I felt like being safe and packed the extra warmth on me. 

Walking out to the edge of town again, my vision darted briefly towards the forest on my left. Usually, I could never fully commit myself to venture there, but seeing as the landscape past the edge of town just wasn’t really piquing my interest today, I turned on my heel and walked towards the aged trees. 


	9. Chapter 9

I cursed the damp leaves which lay around me. They did absolutely nothing to keep me warm, I don’t even know why I bothered with them. If everything had been fine I’d have been in the south right about now, the mildly cool days spent gathering, flying and sleeping. A few bonding ceremonies would’ve happened by now, not many, but some nonetheless. Not even sure why people bothered doing it in the dead of winter, you could do it any time if you wanted. All it took was pure water and wingdust, you could get that during any season. Better yet, doing it in the spring was the easiest time if you needed water! But  _ no, _ of course not; the swarm will only celebrate it if it’s done in winter so that way you might suddenly decide you want to make a latet seed on a whim, allowing the thing to blossom when spring hits! 

Pulling one of the leaves closer against me, I let out a slow sigh. Getting angry would get me nowhere, worse it’d tire me out, and I really didn’t need that now of all days. Snow would fall in only a matter of weeks, and I have barely enough food to stay alive on a daily basis, let alone for the coming months. Food would only continue to get scarcer and scarcer as the days would eventually pass. 

I rubbed at my eyes, feeling them sting mildly as I did so. Even as a sprite, where we tend to sleep for a shorter amount of time than most creatures, my lack of steady food has prevented me from getting any consistent sleep at all for the past few months. Every night I was either fully awake or drifted in and out of a dreamlike haze. I could easily tell my mind was unhinged, or, pretty well close to being that way soon. I managed to stay mildly sane by casting my lights every so often, just watching them dance around the hollowed tree trunk, or marking the passage of another day on the walls. Though it’s quite possible the latter was slowly depressing me…

Sitting myself up, and feeling my entire body ache as I did so, I cast my lights again. There had been  _ one _ other thing I’d spent my time doing. Mentally guiding one of the lights towards me, I brought my fingers up slowly to try and grasp at the air around it. I’d gotten enough practice in order to successfully “hold” one of my lights (touching it would immediately cause it to dissipate). The one thing I hadn’t managed to figure out was  _ how _ Naswick could see  _ anything _ inside them. The best I’d accomplished was seeing slight particles hovering inside the light, but how in the world did that mean anything worthwhile? Staring down at the yellow orb in my hands, I saw nothing but the same thing as I had every time I’d tried beforehand. Annoyed, I swiped my hand through it, feeling it dissolve over my skin. I looked around and spotted what I was after. 

Getting up, I walked up to the single, minute pink light which floated along with the others. Every time, without fail, every time I cast my lights it would be there. Before Naswick had read my lights I had never noticed it. Now, I hated it. The same light which, from what I could very easily take a gander at, was the same light that had showed...  _ whatever _ it was that prompted the elders to abandon me. Gripping the small orb in my hands, I stared down at it. The only difference my tired eyes could see was two of the particles dimming in and out in an inconsistent pattern. 

I fell to the floor, resting my head on my raised knees. There was nothing I could do. Everything was out of my power anyway, why did I even bother trying to figure out what was written in my lights? Even if I figured it out it wouldn’t help me in any way-

The feeling of a positive energy struck down my spine. 

Dispelling my lights immediately I sat perfectly still in the dark. Sprites had a natural ability to detect the positive or negative energies emanated by creatures, and based on what I felt, it meant someone was approaching. 

I sat, and waited, listening, detecting. The energy source was gradually getting closer, and in a short time, I was able to hear them walking as well. Part of me didn’t dare want to move a muscle, but the other part of me was loudly screeching; they may have food.

Slowly, and quietly, I pushed back the bark which had been blocking my exit. Dimming my natural glow as much as I could, I crawled my way out of the hole in the tree. The hole had been rather close to the ground, and from my position, it didn’t exactly provide the best viewpoint to see who was approaching. Glancing around quickly, I mustered up what strength I had to fly up a few feet, landing against the dry bark. I could feel my shoulder blades still aching from the effort. To the planes, I pray they have food…

Within only a few moments, I spotted who’d been approaching; a human female, blue eyes staring ahead of her and long blond hair trailing behind, covered in multiple layers of brown clothing. It seemed she was carrying a basket of sorts, with something draped inside. From where I clung to the tree I couldn’t make out what was in the basket, but my desperate hope that it was some sort of food prompted me to gingerly crawl across the bark, trying to get a better viewing angle. 

This had been my mistake.

The bark under my left foot chipped out from under me, not causing me to fall but enough for me to yelp out loud and flap my wings in order to regain my balance. I looked back at the human female, who was staring right back at me. 

There was a silence in the air between us. She looked astonished, while I was glaring as hard as I could at her, trying to hide my panic. After a brief moment, she regained her senses, and slowly eyed me up and down. Slowly, she stepped forward, making me tense up as she did so. From where I stood on the tree, I was at her eye level, and she was only a foot away. There was nothing I could do to defend myself in my weakened state. She had me trapped. 

“...Are you alright?”

What.

She looked back at me with concern, “Sorry, I… I know nothing about fey creatures or anything like that, it’s just… you seem like you’re in pain.”

My gaze softened at her. She was speaking in Common, a simple language used by humans. My swarm and other fey creatures spoke in Sylvan, the language of the fey. However, the human language was easy enough for most creatures to understand.

Tilting her head, she seemed unsure of herself, though at the same time glad I was no longer giving her a sour look, “I don’t have any food on me, or anything to heal you with” at this, I cursed myself internally. She continued, “However… I could give you food if you followed me.”

I felt my ears perk up as she said this. In my current situation, I would either die now from this human, die later when the snow eventually fell, or possibly survive off this female’s generosity. I nodded at her.

She looked at me with pure glee, “Alright, sure! Here,” at that, she stretched out her hand towards me, “if you want to climb on. Or you can fly if you want, either way works fine.”

Eyeing her hand, I grabbed hold of her fingers, pulling myself up so my feet rested on her palm. Her skin felt warm to the touch, and I couldn’t help but welcome it. As soon as I steadied myself on her hand though she realized something, “Oh wait! Actually, here,” at this, she held up her basket, “There’s a blanket in there. Feel free to try and use it to get yourself warm. Also, we’ll be heading into town so it might be best if you hide yourself in it for now.”

Taking her advice, though wishing I could continue leeching off her own warmth just a bit longer, I hopped into the basket that she presented to me. Within little time I dug my way under one of the folds, surprised at how quickly I could feel myself begin to grow warm again, as much of the coldness from the environment itself was blocked by the woollen fabric.

“Alright, I’ll tell you once we’re in town and also when we arrive at my place, so just hang in there for now, okay?” and with that, I could feel her start to walk back from the direction she’d come from. 

I didn’t fall asleep, but I could feel my mind go blank as my body finally managed to rest again after so, so long.


	10. Chapter 10

“I’m home!” I called out. Staring back at the basket tucked under my arm, I whispered, “Stay in there a little longer, okay? I’ll let you know when it’s safe,” No sign was given as to whether the fey had heard me or not, but I took the lack of a sign as a good thing at least. 

Oddly, my father didn’t answer. Approaching the counter, I saw a note had been left out;

> _ Dear Bell,  _
> 
> _ You can probably guess, but seeing as today had been so quiet I managed to finish a lot earlier than expected. Actually, because of the work you managed to do today, although it may seem insignificant, it allowed me to take off earlier than I’d anticipated, as I would have done most of what you did earlier before I’d have left. So I’ll be away for the next week. Thanks again, and see you soon. _
> 
> _ -Father  _

I could feel myself overcome with delight. Gently putting the basket on the counter, I spoke up, “Alright, it’s safe.” Nothing again. I could feel the panic in me rise at the thought the fey had died on the way here. Gently lifting the blanket up, I saw him, eyes closed and chest rising ever so softly. (I presumed the fey was a him at least. Despite the lack of clothing, the fey possessed no discernible male or female features.) Sighing to myself in relief, I remembered my promise to provide food. Getting up from the counter, I made my way to the back, where, sure enough, father had forgotten his uneaten stew. It was cold, but still safe to eat. 

I honestly didn’t even know if the fey would, or could, eat the stew, but it was the only prepared food I had presently. If he was really that hungry, then I could at least provide him with this for now. Returning to the front of the shop, I noticed the fey was sitting up in the basket, tiredly glancing about. 

“For now I have this if you want. It’s not exactly a warm meal, and… maybe it’s not something you usually eat, I guess. I can look around for other stuff if you’d prefer,” I said as I placed the bowl beside the basket. 

The fey looked in the bowl and shook his head, slowly lifting himself out of the basket. As he approached the bowl, it dawned on me that the bowl itself was nearly twice his size. Looking around, I spotted a thimble, “Hold on a moment,” I said. Taking the thimble and dipping it gently into the stew I handed it to him, “There, that should make things simpler.”

He nodded as he took the thimble, proceeded to eat out of it. In no time at all, he’d drained the contents. 

I smiled, “Feel free to finish it. I’ll go work on making something for myself.” At that I left him, heading into the kitchen to start my own supper. Settling on salted fish and potatoes, I got to work. By the time I was done cooking and went to go check up on the fey, he’d already managed to finish the contents of the stew. I laughed as I walked up to him, “If you’re still hungry I just made fish and potatoes.”

Looking up at me briefly he shook his head weakly. He looked exceptionally tired.

“...If you want to sleep I could find you somewhere to do it.”

He nodded. Picking him up in my hands prompted him to already start dozing off in them. 

Making my way upstairs and to my room, I looked around, spotting the jewelry box I kept on my nightstand. I barely owned any jewelry, let alone enough to fill it, but father had bought it for me anyway as a gift, saying it was still a box in the end. Gently removing one of my hands from under the fey, I used my free hand to open the lid, removing the few items I kept inside. The box was a foot in length, easily large enough to fit the fey I held in my hand. Laying him against the velvet lining of the wooden box, I watched as he immediately fell in a deep slumber. 

Quietly, I sat down on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest and just stayed there, looking at him. He was unlike anything I’d ever seen in my life; not even nine inches in height, with transparent moth-like wings stretching nearly the length of his body, pale cyan skin with a dim luminosity to it, elf-like ears and long hair which actually floated just above and behind his head, matching the colour of his skin. Though I couldn’t see them currently, his eyes were a sparkling yellow. 

I’m not sure how long I stayed there, but at some point in time, I remembered I’d left my food downstairs. Sighing to myself as I got up from the bed, I went back down to eat in the back of the shop.


	11. Chapter 11

After having locked up for the night and cleaning the various dishes I’d found lying about, I finally could go back up to my room to check on the fey creature. Quietly making my way upstairs, I saw my room bathed in a pale shadow, save for a dim glow that originated from my nightstand. I smiled to myself, it was as bright as a candle nearly, which I suppose would be a bit troublesome to try and ignore when getting to sleep, but the blueness of it was easy on the eyes at least. 

Silently changing into my nightgown and stepping into bed, I glanced back at the fey, who was still very much asleep. For a moment it occurred to me that some magical creatures were known to cause malice, and if that was the case for this fey then I may have actually put myself in slight danger. I shook the thought from my head. Even if that were the case he seemed innocent enough, and worst-case scenario he seemed extremely weakened. Figuring there wasn’t much use in muddling over it for now, I closed my eyes and felt my breathing slow. 

* * *

I did not like where I was, and that was putting it mildly. 

_ Glaciate the poor soul gazing through the blinding frost… _

I was surrounded by snow and ice, before, below me and around me, a storm raging against my eyes.

_ Worth letting themselves be taken by the cruel storm… _

I wasn’t alone either. In front of me were three large humanoid creatures, taller than any monument I could even imagine. 

_ Towering beings… make even the strongest of men fall to their knees... _

Something was radiating from them. A magic perhaps? It was painful to be around.

_ Forced to endure the entirety of this immense force… _

The three beings were doing something, whatever was causing this immense magic. Their forms were dissolving, congregating into one. 

_ Conjoin into a creature indescribable by the languages of this world…  _

At the center of the three beings stood a single faint light, its radiance slowly dimming as the magic around intensifies. 

_ Calls out for help, yet at the same time knows it caused this... _

The light was trying to speak out to me, it seemed to be in pain as the three creatures converged around it, attempting to become a new entity. 

_ Never wanted to cause hurt, nor disturb the peace which it took for granted... _

Whatever the three beings were doing was killing it, slowly and all too painfully.

_ With great pain in its flesh and mind… _

I couldn’t move. I wanted to stop this.

_ It is too late. _

Suddenly, I sensed utter loneliness. The light held importance to me, but it was gone. It was the last thing keeping this world alive. Everyone’s dead. Only this single monster remains now.

_ Not a concern for the goliath which towers over existence itself… _

This being has consumed everything. It had left absolutely nothing in this world. And it used my precious light to meet this twisted end.

_ The link for its shattered souls… _

I cried out in shock, tears streaming down my face as I bolted upright in bed. I could feel my entire body trembling as I sat there, trying to calm myself down. That dream had felt  _ way _ too real. In fact, I don’t recall having ever had a dream with that much realness to it. Glancing briefly at the subtle glow in the darkness I saw the fey still sleeping calmly. For a moment a cruel thought flashed through my mind, one that I didn’t want to listen to. I was tired, and that thought was probably nothing more than my mind attempting to calm down from the chaoticness of the dream. Wiping the tears from my face, I lay back down, somehow finding the sweet rest of sleep again.    



	12. Chapter 12

My eyes seemed to open on their own, catching sight of the midday sun already high in the sky. Weird, I usually never slept this late. 

Suddenly a panic swept over me at the thought I’d missed the morning whistle, and I’d been left behind. Sitting upright, I took a long moment figuring out my surroundings. A soft red fabric lay just under me, surrounded by wooden walls that had been smoothed out and formed in a rectangular shape. Glancing over the edge of the walls, I could see a room sprawled out in front of me. Behind where I sat was a bed, to my left a table and a single chair, a wooden chest rested in one corner of the room, another piece of rectangular human furniture I didn’t recognize in the opposite corner from the chest, and a table underneath the wooden walls which surrounded me. 

I remembered now; I had been left behind, but not in the way I’d thought of. 

My body felt completely rejuvenated surprisingly. Likely the food the human had provided the other night had helped with that. Whatever it had been was much more nutritious than your average handful of chestnuts would have been. Still though, I had to make sure my wings were alright.

Stepping out of the wooden box-like object is when I spotted a pair of cups on the table I stood on. I approaching them curiously; one contained water, while the other contained a few rose hips. Beside the water cup rested another one of those miniature metal cups the female had handed me the previous day. It occurred to me that I was pretty dehydrated actually. After a couple of helpings of water, I walked over to the edge of the table, looking down. It wasn’t too high up, if my wings failed me I’d get bruised, but nothing more. Taking a slight gamble, I hopped off from the table, feeling my wings catch the air with ease. I sighed, mentally thanking the planes.

It occurred to me the human female was nowhere in sight. However, I could feel her positive energy somewhere in the vicinity. Flying out of the room I was in, I noticed a flight of stairs leading down and another doorway right across from me. Peeking through the other door briefly showed a similar layout to the room I’d been in before, but with no one there. 

Finding my way to the lower level, I was greeted with a room filled with fabric of various colours and a handful of tables, also covered by fabric. I was alarmed when I saw the headless humanoid figures standing on, not legs, but single poles that branched out at the ends. Staring at them long enough, I concluded they either weren’t going to move or couldn’t. Either way, I kept my eyes on them as I flew out the doorway to the left. 

This room I recognized more easily as being a kitchen, with a wood stove still quietly burning, a water basin off in the corner and a few tables for preparing food on. Once again, no one was here. At that moment I heard the sound of a bell cling not too far off, and voices began speaking, one male, one female. I recognized the female voice.

Flying back through the fabric room and keeping a lookout on the headless beings as I passed by them, I noticed the second door frame which lay perpendicular to the staircase. Deciding it safer to stay close to the ground, I landed on the wooden floor, carefully walking up to look out the door. 

“So M’bella, this pro’ly will come as no surprise to yee, but I ripped through another one of ma favourite shirts, it be seeming,” said an old dwarven male, who stood on the opposite side of a tall wooden box in the middle of the room. 

“Why am I not surprised, Andi. Let me guess, fixed and reinforced as usual? replied the human female from the other day, holding a piece of clothing and standing on the side of the box closest to me.

The dwarf nodded, handing something, possibly a small pouch, to the human, “Ay, indeed. An twenty-five gold, as usual, I’m assuming.”

“Yep, it’ll be done by tomorrow most likely.”

“Ay, thank yee again, M’bella,” and with that the dwarf left through another door, causing the bell to ring again. 

As soon as the dwarf left the female turned on her heel and headed in my direction. Ducking out of the way, she walked past me without noticing, going to grab a few items and headed back towards the previous room she’d been in. Sitting herself down beside the box she’d been at before and laying out the various items along it. After a moment I could hear a few snipping sounds, yet I couldn’t tell what she was doing. 

Walking along the ground till I was just behind her, I flew up to look over her shoulder. As I thought, she’d been cutting some fabric she’d obtained from the other room. After watching her a bit longer, it occurred to me she was sewing. Looking around the room, I realized that a lot of the items which rested on the various shelves and the like were related to sewing and fabric. 

What was with the obsession with sewing this human had? I couldn’t help but be puzzled by her.


	13. Chapter 13

Threading the needle back and forth to mend the tear Andi had caused in the sleeve, it took a lot of my concentration not to let my mind wander. I really wanted to go check up on the fey creature, make sure he was alright, if he’d eaten anything. Not that I had any experience with healing magical creatures, let alone healing a serious wound on your average person, but if he had any major injuries I’d definitely want to try and help any way I could. Unfortunately, I had to keep an eye on the shop until evening.

I groaned. Hopefully, I’d left enough food out until then.

“So why the interest, actually?”

My heart leapt from my chest at the sudden voice beside my ear. Whipping my head around I saw the fey flying right beside my shoulder. Heavens, had he startled me. He stared at me with his arms crossed, waiting for an answer, “E-excuse me?”

He pointed briefly at what I was working on before folding his arms over again, “Why the intense interest in sewing?”

I blinked at him a few times, still a bit surprised by the question, “Well… this is a dressmaker's shop. We specialize in sewing and making garments, my father and I. Though I guess I do enjoy it generally as well.”

The fey tilted his head, “But what’s the purpose? Of a shop, I mean.”

“It’s to provide goods or services in exchange for currency.”

He frowned slightly, “Why not just trade your services in exchange for other services?”

I shrugged, “Not everyone can offer a service in return. That’s where currency comes in.”

“Everyone should be able to do something, be it a craft or physical labour.”

“But what if I didn’t need their services but they needed mine?” I couldn’t believe I was discussing the implications of capitalism with a fey creature, of all things. 

“Then they’d return the favour at a later date.”

I was beginning to get mildly annoyed, “The problem comes when people start forgetting they owe others, or those who provided a service never seek out repayment.”

The fey looked up pensively, “...I suppose that makes sense.”

Sighing, I put down my work. There was no way I could focus now, “On another subject, you seem a lot better.”

He nodded, avoiding my gaze, “...Thank you... for that actually.”

I smiled back at him, “It’s not a problem. Stay as long as you need to actually. My father is out for the week, so it’s completely safe for you to explore the house in the meantime, as long as you keep out of the shop, just in case someone comes by. Oh, and without destroying the house, obviously.” 

It was nice to see him smile at that, even if it was more of a smirk, “You put too much faith in me. I’m a sprite, not a redcap.”

A sprite, so that’s what he was, “Alright, well, if it isn’t too much to ask, seeing as you’re going to be sticking around for a bit, could you tell me your name?”

He blinked, a bit surprised it seems, “Clay.”

I chuckled mildly, “And I’m Maybella.”

Clay nodded in acknowledgement. He looked back towards the door, “I’m assuming I should go back upstairs in the meantime?”

Glancing back at the door to check if someone was approaching, I nodded, “Once evening hits you’re free to go wherever. I’ll also make supper around then. Until now, it’s best if you stay out of direct sight. I’m not sure how others may react to you.”

He shrugged, “Fair enough.” Turning back to look at me once more, Clay glided swiftly through the back door. 

My eyes stayed fixated on the doorway where Clay had once been just a moment ago, before remembering the work I had left on the counter. I sighed, picking up the needle and continuing. 

Clay was a peculiar character, to say the least…


	14. Chapter 14

I couldn’t say why, but I preferred Maybella’s room over the rest of her home, which probably explained why I stayed there the entire time she was “tending the shop” as she’d called it. In that time I’d eaten the rosehips she’d left for me, figured out the function of the strange piece of furniture which stood in the corner (it appeared to be a box which held multiple moving compartments, each one containing clothing of some sort) and examined the intricate carvings of the box which I’d awakened inside of.

Having been conditioned all my life to be around others constantly, it seemed that, now that I was no longer forced to be alone inside that dreary tree anymore, I wanted to enjoy someone’s company again. Weirdly enough, I was well aware it meant I would’ve liked to have Maybella around, despite barely knowing her. It was also quite possible I was just sick and tired of the boredom this room provided. At least out in the wild there’s also something new to look at, everything’s always changing. In here? Everything’s static, unchanging, lifeless. 

Still, it was better than the tree. 

My ears perked up when I heard footsteps climbing up the stairs. In a moment Maybella appeared through the door, hands filled with multiple items. 

“Ugh, finally, I’m done. Sorry that took so long.”

I shook my head, landing on the table in the middle of the room. Despite everything I’d done while waiting, I knew it hadn’t been that long. Being able to watch the sun through that glass panel in the wall helped with that, “I kept myself busy.”

She smiled, “That’s good to hear,” setting the various items down on the table she continued, “Anyway, I cut out a few pieces of bread and found some raisins if you want them. If you’d prefer I could give you a small piece of the meat pie I made.”

Glancing at the small plate which she had indicated as the one with the “raisins” and “bread”, items I’d never heard of before, I responded, “It’s fine, I’ll try them.” Sitting down beside the plate, I grabbed one of the shrivelled, pale yellow items. It was slightly bitter, yet sweet at the same time. Despite their dryness, they almost tasted familiar, “What are these?”

Maybella took a moment to swallow, “They’re the raisins. Dried grapes.”

I stared back at the item in my hand, “Huh. I’ve never found grapes like these in the wild.”

“Some of the farmers here specialize in them. They cut the branches off the vine when the grapes are ripe, letting them dry out. ...I’d imagine the process doesn’t occur naturally all that often.”

“I suppose not,” I replied. My curiosity was peaked by what I assumed to be the bread. It was a pale brown, yet spongy to the touch. The taste was subtler but still pleasant, its softness making it easy to chew, “So what are these made from then?”

Another moment passed as Maybella had to hurriedly swallow her food, “Wheat that’s been ground up and baked with a few other ingredients.”

I furrowed my brows, “Wait, wheat? Humans eat  _ wheat?” _

Maybella shrugged, “A lot of the other humanoid races do as well. It’s a grain, isn’t it? Have you never eaten grains before?”

My gaze fell a bit, “It was never really something my swarm tended to gather, I guess.” Continuing to eat my food, I could clearly tell from where I sat that she wanted to ask what I meant by that. Despite my attempt to try to continue eating, the dead silence in the air was aggravating me. I sighed, putting my food down, “Sprites function in a similar way to ant colonies; they live together, support each other, gather food for everyone. The main difference is we lack a queen or a permanent home. We stay airborne as much as we can to avoid any attacks from predators.” Maybella listened attentively, yet I could sense the question resting on the edge of her lips. Instead of waiting for her to ask it, I answered it for her, “I was abandoned by them. But that was several months ago, I guess.”

Her face showed general sympathy for me, “...Why in the world would they do that, though?”

Standing up, I turned to face her, my arms crossed, “Well,  _ usually _ they’ll do that if a sprite can no longer fly, or is seriously injured. Sometimes they’ll do it if a sprite turned evil, but that’s an even rarer occurrence.”

She tilted her head, a mixture of confusion and concern, “But I’ve seen you fly, and I wouldn’t think you as evil, so why were you-”

My composure finally cracked,  _ “That’s just it,  _ **_I don’t know!_ ** If I knew then maybe I wouldn’t be here!”

Maybella receded slightly. Her face showed remorse for having asked, “...I’m sorry, it wasn’t my place to ask about it.”

I felt my arms fall to my sides, sighing to myself, “No, it’s fine... As long as you’re letting me stay here I guess you have the right to know why I’m in need of charity to begin with.”

She nodded, her face still flush with a slight twinge of sadness, “As I’ve said, you can take as long as you want.” In only a moment her expression brightened back up again. Not that it seemed as though her sombreness had been faked for my sake, but more so she really was that cheerful, “I hope this isn’t too strange to ask you this, but, I just want to be sure for the future…” I eyed her attentively, waiting. Finally, she spoke up, “...You are male, right?”

I looked her dead in the eye, “I’m female.”

Her hands immediately went to cover her mouth, her face flustered from embarrassment, and her words spilling out in a rushed jumble, “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I’ve never encountered another fey before so I had no idea what the-” Maybella cut herself off when she realized I was clutching my ribs from laughter.

I calmed down just enough in order to respond to her inquiring face, “I lied. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to see your reaction though!”

She huffed at me, crossing her arms in annoyance, “So you are a male.”

Nodding, I’d finally shaken off the last of my snickering, “Yes, you are correct.”

She tilted her head lightly, “But… how does that work then? You don’t look like a human male, so I’m assuming the reproduction process for sprites doesn’t rely on the same methods as humans would need?”

I shook my head, “No, we use a system that relies more on magic to create new sprites. So I’m technically male by name only. There are subtle differences between male and female sprites, but it doesn’t range past facial features and shoulder-width usually. Actually, the only reason sprites have different genders in the first place is-”

Maybella blinked as she listened to me, “The only reason sprites have different genders is…?”

“Sorry, it just occurred to me that that’s one of the few things not to reveal to non-sprites. To ensure we don’t get intentionally wiped out, you know?”

She furrowed her brows, “Well I’d say that as long as sprites continued to move around constantly in order to avoid danger, as long as you weren’t leaving your unborn sprites somewhere on the ground then theoretically, you wouldn’t have a problem with that ever happening.”

“Heh... you’re right I guess,” Maybella was very right, too right; we  _ did _ leave unborn sprites on the ground. I wasn’t going to say that out loud though. 

Shrugging, she picked up her dishes, “Anyway, it occurred to me earlier that if you wanted to take a bath it’s something I could fix up easily for you. I’m not saying you’re dirty, but since my father and I own a decanter of endless water we have no shortage of water thankfully. It’s one of the few magical items we own actually,” she paused, “unless it’s painful for you to get your wings wet.”

“If I was a regular moth then maybe I’d lose my flight briefly, but my wings are fine when exposed to water.”

She nodded, smiling, “Alright, well if you ever want to just let me know. I’ll be back soon.” and with that, she left the room. 


	15. Chapter 15

Over the next few days, I realized I’d become increasingly annoyed at sprite customs. The first of the incidents started with the latet flowers, and it just kept stacking on as Maybella and I conversed more. She enjoyed asking questions about the sort of environment and customs I’d grown up around, and, not that I minded personally about answering her, but every now and then I’d realize there was something I wasn’t supposed to talk about, seeing as she was, a non-sprite in the end. 

It occurred to me that, despite the fact when I was with my swarm we were technically as free as any other creature in the wild, we had imposed a lot of restraints on ourselves, taking the form of our so-called “taboos.” Socializing with an outsider now made me realize this. Though, I suppose I was an outsider myself now. 

“You look pensive,” she said to me.

“Hm?”

She lowered the needle and pink fabric she held in her hands, “I don’t know, just like there’s something on your mind, I guess.”

I shrugged, pulling myself out of the bowl of water she had let me use, responding as I dried off with a scrap of fabric, “It’s nothing really.”

Maybella pursed her lips slightly, but said nothing of it, returning to her work. After a brief moment, I could tell she was studying me, “I’m wondering, are they dry?”

“What?”

She indicated towards my wings, “You had them in water, but I could swear they look dry still.”

I glanced back at one of my wings briefly, “...yeah, they’re dry. I told you before, they’re affected by my magic. It protects them from a lot of conditions. If it didn’t I’d be seriously more at risk of getting crippled it I was attacked or something.”

Maybella nodded, “Does your magic flow into them from the veins in your wings or is it just like an aura that automatically protects around them?”

“Actually, it’s…” I realized that was yet  _ another _ thing I wasn’t supposed to talk about with her. Chewing on my lower lip briefly, I continued, “...from the dust which coats my wings. I naturally shed it, and it’s magical properties are what help me stay in flight and protect my wings at the same time.” 

All that was the truth. As to why I said it? Well, it occurred to me that as an outcast, I really had no obligation to continue following sprite customs any longer. Actually, I wasn’t even sure why I had stopped myself the other times. I probably wouldn’t tell her about the latet flowers still, but everything else had been of insignificant consequence if a non-sprite ever knew. 

“Oh! So is that where the term ‘fairy dust’ comes from?”

I shrugged, “It’s possible. I think other fey species use this trick too.”

She nodded, “That makes sense. Does that mean it can do the same thing as fairy dust supposedly does when it’s exposed to a non-fey?”

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at her, “I don’t know, seeing as I don’t know what “fairy dust” is rumoured to do.”

Maybella thought for a moment, “...Pretty sure it’s supposed to give a person limited temporary magic. Like flight for example.”

“I… really don’t know.”

“Mm, alright,” the sewing needle in Maybella’s hands started moving again.

I’d only slightly lied when I said I didn’t know. One of the taboos actually was to not affect a humanoid with one’s dust. As to why that was never really explained though. In that sense, it was true that I really had no clue what sort of effects a sprite’s dust could have on a person. While I’d been in my thoughts I realized midway that Maybella had been talking to me, “Pardon, what were you saying?”

She sighed as she held up the article of pink clothing again, “Alright, I know this doesn’t look like the typical sort of thing a person would wear into combat, but, if you could imagine this as something you  _ could _ wear into combat, what might you think of adding or changing about it?”

Looking at the item she was holding, I was about to admit that I was no expert on armour, or combat in general, when suddenly I recalled that I had seen multiple sets of discarded armour and weapons at the elven battlefield once. Whether the armour had been crafted exclusively by elves I couldn’t know, but many of them sported various emblems embellished on them, ranging from simple lines and dots to complex dragons. Studying the article of clothing Maybella was holding again, I tried to remember what emblems I’d seen which may be appropriate for this particular item. Eventually, I did think of one, “Armour tends to have different symbols etched into it, right? For yours perhaps adding some stars or something similar could work.”

Maybella spun the item to look at it herself, “...Huh, I had never even thought of that. Embroidery would be the easiest way to add them at this point, I suppose…” she smiled at me, “Thanks for the idea, Clay.”

I smiled in return, honestly not sure how I had helped her, though she seemed happy nonetheless with my response. In short time Maybella had run downstairs and swiftly returned with a cylindrical wooden object, covered with metallic pale blue thread. In only a handful of minutes, she had already created several stars on the fabric with the thread. I noticed when the light hit them just right they really did glisten like the actual stars in the night sky. 

She chuckled when she noticed I was watching her efforts, “If you wore clothes I’d have offered to embroider them as well, though I guess I could make you some if you wanted.”

I shook my head, “They’d just slow me down, and possibly interfere with my wings’ capacity to move properly.”

After finishing another star she shrugged, “If you ever change your mind let me know.”

Vaguely nodding in response, my mind was elsewhere, still trying to figure out what effect wing dust could actually have on a person. Telling Maybella about the properties of wing dust was only a minor taboo. Minor taboos consisted of a lot of things, all of which the punishment for them was a day without food for each offence committed. It was only the major taboos that have levels associated with them, and depending on the level you would receive the appropriate punishment. Accidentally affecting a non-sprite with dust was an eleventh tier taboo, intentionally affecting them bumped it up to a sixth tier. 

In short, telling Maybella about wing dust would entail a day without food, affecting her with it would mean my wings would get cut off.

If I was ever caught that is. 

Considering I was in the middle of a human and elven city, in the privacy of someone’s home, with only one witness excluding myself, the chances of another fey ever finding out were  _ incredibly _ thin. 

“How’s that?”

“Hm?” I looked up, seeing Maybella holding up the piece of clothing she just finished working on. Along the lower half, she had made a dozen or so stars of varying sizes, in addition to one close to the center of the top. It did look much better, “Well done.”

She chuckled in thanks, inspecting her work up close. I’d noticed swiftly during my time here that she had a bit of a perfectionist nature to her. I didn’t mind though.

“Hey... Maybella?”

“Yeah?” she said as she put down the fabric.

“Would you want to try it?”

Blinking once and tilting her head she asked, “...The dress?”

I shook my head, looking away momentarily, “I honestly don’t know if my wing dust would have any effect on you or any other person, but… it’s up to you whether we were to test it out or not.”

She looked genuinely surprised, “Wait... really?”

Meeting her eyes again, I answered, “Well, yes. I mean, I’m not going to cover you with dust against your will.” 

In a flash Maybella rose from her chair, surprising me, “Alright, let’s do it!”

“This moment?”

“Why not?”

I guess I didn’t have a sufficient reason for that. Flying off the table I hovered near Maybella’s eye level, “Alright. Though, as I said, I have no idea if the effects will be positive or negative.”

“Understood.”

“If there’ll be any at all.”

“I acknowledge that.”

There was no going back now I suppose. Prompting her to back away from the table until we were in the center of the room, another thought occurred to me, “In addition, I’d recommend covering your eyes, nose and mouth. Not sure if breathing it in could be harmful either.”

She nodded, “Fair enough. I’m ready on my end.”

I sighed, “...Very well,” then flew up so I was a few inches above her head, “Get ready.”

Taking in a deep breath, Maybella put her hands over her eyes and pinched her nose shut. With a heavy flap of my wings, I felt some of the dust fall loose, watching as it gathered in Maybella’s hair, leaving it with a light shine where it landed.

Flying back down to face her, I nodded, “Alright, it should be fine to breathe now.”

Removing her hands from her face, she noticed even they held a slight glittery effect to them, “Well… it certainly feels similar to a butterfly’s wing coating, but… I don’t really feel all that different.”

I frowned, “Really?”

“Maybe a little warmer, but, nothing much.”

Well, that was disappointing… 

Maybella yawned slightly, rubbing at her face with her hand, “Anyway, it’s gotten late I suppose, not sure about…” she trailed off, looking at me with an odd expression, “...Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

She tilted her head, “You’re sort of… glowing more than usual?”

I looked down at myself, everything seemed normal, “I’m not sure I know what you mean, I haven’t changed the intensity of my gl-” as soon as the words left my lips I flew out the door towards the stairs.


	16. Chapter 16

“Clay?!” I shouted as he flew out of the room. I felt myself panic slightly. Did something happen to him?

Before I could even step out of my room he was back in an instant, gripping something in his hands. Setting the object down on the table, he looked back at me, “Is this thing glowing as well?”

It was our decanter of endless water, and indeed it was, “Yes, what about it?”

Clay glanced around the room, “Besides me and the pitcher, is there anything else glowing in the room?”

I glanced around, “No… not from what I can see.”

He smiled, “You’re seeing magic auras.”

“Wait, really?!”

Clay shrugged, “You tell me. The auras coming from the pitcher and myself, do they look the same?”

Studying them a bit closer, the decanter produced a dim, rippling-like aura, while Clay’s could only be described as what looked like a fluttering, glittery, cosmic cloud of sorts, “If what I’m seeing is magic, then neither you nor the pitcher look even remotely similar in that regard.”

He chuckled slightly, “That makes sense. Mine’s probably a lot weaker compared to the pitcher.”

I’m not sure what gave him that idea, but I didn’t question him about it, “So I can see magic now?”

“Likely only temporarily… as to whether that’s the extent of what you can do, only you can find that out.”

Thinking back a moment, I realized it was after I rubbed my eyes that I had noticed Clay’s aura, “How do you usually cast your magic?”

“With my hands, performing various motions. Why?”

With a light pirouette on the toe of my foot, I swirled my hand to point to the wall. In a small burst of light, the wall became covered in a ten-foot spread of silvery, sticky dust. Clay and I just stared at the result, “...I didn’t think that’d work.”

“...I didn’t think you’d try that.”

Approaching the stuff and touching a finger to it resulted in it sticking to my finger as well, “This comes off at some point… right?”

“Wait a second or two, it should fade soon enough.”

After a full minute had passed the stuff finally faded. I felt myself sigh in relief, “Oh, thank heavens.”

Clay tilted his head, “Odd, but alright.”

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, “Clay.”

“Yes?”

“If this goes badly I accept all responsibility for whatever happens.”


	17. Chapter 17

“Wait, if what goes badly...?” I asked with concern.

In one swift motion, Maybella spun her upper body in a vertical circle, brushing her hand against her legs. 

“Maybella, I’m not sure if-”

It was already too late by then. Her legs began to glow from whatever magic she had used just then. Holding out one of her feet in front of her, she gazed both mesmerized and pensively at it. 

“Um, May-” before I could even finish speaking she bolted out the door, a smile plastered on her face as she sped off, hearing her feet run down the stairs at an exceptional pace. Darting past the door and down the stairs myself, I sensed her positive energy leave through the front door of the shop. 

Flying out of the front door at full speed, I spotted her running down the side of the street at an inhuman speed,  _ “Maybella, wait!” _

She was making good distance in short time. I could nearly swear she was running at the same speed I was flying, and I’m not a slow flyer, by far. It was only as I was chasing her that I realized the streets were covered in a few inches of snow by now, and more was softly falling. 

It was thanks to said snow that I caught up to her finally, when she slipped and landed face-first into the stuff.

By the time I caught up to her, she had managed to pull herself back up and was just sitting there, laughing whole-heartedly. I had no idea if the laughing was caused by the magic or any injuries to the head she might’ve just received from the fall.

Finally calming down just enough, she looked towards me, smiling with the most genuine smile I’ve ever seen any creature produce, “That was incredible... I’ve never been able to run that fast in my entire life!” she sighed contentedly, “Thank you.”

A part of me really wanted to tell her how risky and dangerous that’d been, even without her falling from the excursion. There had been no way for us to know what kind of magic might’ve occurred from having done what she just did. 

Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing her smile like that, and didn’t want to dampen her fun with my scolding. Instead, I just smiled in return. 


	18. Chapter 18

I sighed to myself, “...Really?”

Clay popped his head out from one of the wooden crates which rested just below the counter, “What is it?”

Pursing my lips slightly, I skimmed the letter which I held in my hands, “The woman who just stopped by delivered a letter from my father. He says he’ll be gone another eight days due to negotiating problems he’s having with his client.”

He vaguely nodded in recognition. I could tell he still didn’t know the specifics of what I was referring to, but he at least understood the basics of it. 

Chewing my lower lip as I re-read the letter, I dropped it onto the counter, sighing again in annoyance, “You feel like heading out?”

Clay furrowed his brows, “I thought you had to stay in the shop until evening.”

“Most days yes, but we need to restock on food. We could go later but I’ve already reached my limit with how long I can stand behind this counter.”

He shrugged, and in little time the shop was locked up and we were out the door. There was easily a foot of snow covering the entirety of the streets now, even with most of the townsfolk shovelling it out of the way every day. Either way, it was cold enough that I’d put on my thicker, full-length wool coat, which ended just above my feet and featured a large hood. It was thanks to the hood that Clay was able to hide himself from sight. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked next to my ear, in response to my constant tugging on the hood to have it cover my face.

I glanced at him through my peripherals, “I don’t want anyone to notice me, on the off chance they try to talk to me and they see you as well.”

He furrowed his brows at me, “You do realize there’s an easier way to achieve that rather than the way you’re doing it now, which is actually making you more suspicious and noticeable.”

Pausing my walking, I responded, “Oh wait, you’re right.” Glancing around, I spotted a small, deserted alleyway and ducked into it. Sliding one of my hands into the hood, I felt Clay brush some of his dust onto my hand. Winding my fingers in a rhythmic pattern against my cheek, I felt my features shift ever so slightly, altering my appearance. It’d been nearly a week since Clay and I had first tried out the effects of his wing dust on me, and we’d gone and done it several times since, each time discovering something new I could do. Among some of those things included: sending whispered messages to each other over an exceptional distance, lifting and moving small objects without using my hands, and even fixing broken or damaged objects. It was actually thanks to that last power I was able to clean up my mom’s old bec de corbin, which, for some reason, had always been severely rusted, likely from saltwater. 

Looking back at Clay, I asked, “How do I look?”

“Well, you still look like a human, and your eyes are the same colour, but you succeeded in giving yourself freckles, darkening your skin and turning your hair red.”

“But do I look like myself?”

He sighed, “No, you do not.”

I raised my fist in victory, “Close enough! Let’s get going.”


	19. Chapter 19

Stepping out of the alleyway, Maybella made a beeline for the market which resided a few streets away.

Her earlier comment about her father came back to me, “What’s he like, anyway?”

“Who he?”

“Your father.”

“Oh,  _ him, _ ” Maybella smiled at my lack of specification, “He’s the kind of person who’s dedicated to his work, and works hard to make a living. He’s pretty accepting of anyone who’ll come through the door as long as they bargain at a fair price. He’s human, like me, with brown eyes and keeps his dark blond hair in a ponytail. Oh, he wears glasses as well. He tells me I get most of my facial features, and my better eyesight, from my mom, which explains my blue eyes for one thing. But yeah, that’s just a general outline of him. Not sure if you wanted something more specific.”

I looked down before answering, “I guess I’m wondering how he’d react to my presence, really.”

Maybella sort of creased her lips together, “I’d assume he’d be okay with you, but… I wouldn’t know for sure. My whole life it’s just been him and myself helping each other out. Maybe he’d be accepting of someone else sharing our home as you are now, but I can’t say I know from previous examples...”

Bringing my knees against my chest I nodded, “That’s understandable,” after a moment of silence I added, “I’m assuming once he comes back is when I’ll need to leave?”

Maybella shook her head gently to avoid hitting me, “I’ve said it  _ countless _ times, have I not? You’re welcome to stay indefinitely, and I mean it. Sure, once father returns we’ll probably have to keep you hidden in my room a lot more, or I guess I could start wearing a hat for you to hide in. Either way,” she turned to look at me, “I enjoy your company, Clay, and I’d be honestly sad to see you leave. Should you ever want to that’s fine, but I’m not going to lie and say you won’t be missed. Alright?”

The only thing I could do was nod in response. My mind was failing to put any words together that could express what I was feeling right now. If I had still been with the swarm, if I had lived out the rest of my life with  _ any _ sprite swarm, I knew with certainty I would have never heard those kinds of words said to me. Because that’s just the sort of culture sprites tend to create on their own.

I shared Maybella’s sentiments; I didn’t want to leave either, nor did I need to. In fact, I’d say that even in the short time we’d spent becoming acquainted with each other, I’d even go so far as saying I’d become close with her.

“Hey, Maybella?”

“Yes?”

I hesitated, “You said before you’re twenty years of age, right?”

“That’s correct. What about it?”

“And you said before you’ve only ever relied on your father, and he relied on you.”

“Yeah.”

“Then… I assume that means the general age for humans to seek out partners is much later than your current age, as I’m also assuming, based on what you’ve said, you’ve never had a partner before.”

“Well, you’re half right, actually,” she began awkwardly, “It’s true I’ve never bothered to seek out someone before, but the general age for most humans to start looking is around eighteen years of age, sometimes sooner. So… in that sense, I’m very much of age to go out and do so, but I’ve never really bothered.” She chuckled, “Actually, the only reason I know what the human male anatomy looks like it because of a drunkard who decided to streak down the road once when I was about fourteen. My father had to awkwardly explain a few things to me that day. I took it well. Him? Not really.”

I nodded, tentative about my next question, “Why is that, though?”

“The reason I never looked for a partner?”

I nodded again.

Maybella brought her hand to her chin, contemplating as she continued walking, “...I guess I don’t really want a partner. Simple as that, really.”

“You don’t care for other humans?”

“I don’t care about any race, be they elf, human, gnome, oread,” she shrugged, “It’s just not one of my pursuits in life.”

I faked a smile for her sake, “That makes sense. Most sprites don’t tend to ever look for partners either, as once you do you’re essentially committed for life.”

Maybella chuckled at me and smiled, “Hey, don’t worry about it, Clay; I don’t need another humanoid and you don’t need another sprite as long as we have each other for that, right?”

A genuine smile made its way on my face as I nodded, “Yeah, you’re right.”


	20. Chapter 20

“Finally!! It’s  _ finished!” _

Looking up, I saw Maybella step back from the pink armour she’d been working on so zealously. She had it fitted over one of those headless figures currently, which she’d assured me were harmless, if not heavy. Still, I was impressed by her ability to carry that thing effortlessly all the way up the stairs in order to work with it in her room. 

If she ever planned on donning the armour and wielding that weapon she cleaned the other day, I’m sure she’d manage herself on a battlefield.

“Do you ever plan to wear it?” I asked.

She sort of smiled sheepishly, “Well, perhaps in my room. I don’t really want to show it to father, and it’s not like I’ll be in any battles any day soon.”

“Then why’d you make it?”

Maybella paused, thinking over her answer, then smiled a bit longingly, “I guess I’ve always wanted to head out on my own, get to see what the world has to offer. I’m aware it’s a cruel world, and there are always those who want to hurt others, so... I guess I made the armour as that first step to get my foot out the door.”

I furrowed my brows slightly, “But I saw you wield that weapon the other day. You had obvious practice with it.”

She shrugged, sitting down on the chair in order to be closer to my eye level, as I was standing on the table, “I mean, sure I know how to  _ use _ a bec de corbin, but I haven’t officially trained in it. There are others out there who’ve probably dedicated their whole lives to mastering it. I doubt I’d ever reach their level of fighting.”

“You may not explicitly be a fighter, however, I’m sure you could easily manage venturing out on your own.”

Maybella smiled at my words, “Am I to assume that you’d come along with me if I did?”

I blinked at that, “Of course.”

She giggled, “That’s good to hear. You’re great company and getting to use magic every so often, even if temporarily, would really help in the long run if we ever went off like that.”

I hadn’t actually admitted it to her, but I suspected that my wing dust wasn’t solely responsible for the spells she’d been able to cast up to date. Maybella had too much control over the effects of the wing dust for it to have come from merely that. From what little I knew about humanoid magic, only those who’d either practiced for many years or who were simply born with a latent magical aptitude could control their spells that well. 

Maybella had mentioned that the entirety of her paternal bloodline had never possessed a hint of magic to them. Her maternal heritage, however, was a mystery to her. Seeing as she’s never practiced magic a day in her life until now, I would have to conclude that either my wing dust causes a reaction inside of her, awakening whatever magical potential she possesses each time she’s affected with it, or it brings about a placebo effect, and Maybella is convinced that the magic she can produce is dependant on my dust. 

If all that was required then was for Maybella to have constant exposure to a portion of my magic in order to awaken her own, then I may know of a way of achieving a permanent method of doing this.


	21. Chapter 21

“It may not need to be temporary, though.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Clay pursed his lips together as he worded his answer carefully, “If all you need is a bit of my magic in order to make your own, then there may be a more permanent method besides using my wing dust. Since my dust eventually falls off you, we just need something that wouldn’t come off so easily.”

I leaned against the table, “That makes sense. But how would we achieve that?”

He stayed silent a moment, chewing his lip, “There’s a technique that sprites use that essentially grants both parties a small portion of the other’s strengths and magic. If you had one sprite who was an extremely fast flier and decided they wanted to join strength with one sprite who was particularly good at magic, the flier would improve their magical abilities and the other sprite would improve their ability to fly.”

Furrowing my brows slightly, I responded, “But if that only works between sprites…”

Clay interrupted me, shaking his head, “That’s usually the case, and that’s what I’d assume myself if there weren’t rules against bonding in this way with non-sprites. The fact that there are rules against it should mean that it  _ is _ possible for non-sprites to do it.”

“Couldn’t that mean that any two creatures, besides sprites, could do this?”

He shrugged, “If it is then I doubt it’s the same method of achieving it as the one sprites use. As far as I know, I only know the sprite method.”

I nodded, “And I suppose it lasts longer than your dust?”

“It’s permanent.”

My eyes widened,  _ “Yep, _ that’s definitely longer alright…” A thought occurred to me, “Is it limited to only two sprites though?”

“Yes, though it’s not necessary for it to be one male and one female who take part in a bonding.”

I looked at Clay puzzledly, “Wait, is there a reason why it would be?”

He scratched at his ear, looking away, “No, it was more to mention that any two sprites could take part in it. There are no limitations besides the two-person limit, and that neither sprite can form a new bond once they’ve made the first one. The only exception is if one person in the pair dies off,” his gaze met mine again, “So if we were to do it, there’d be no turning back once we did.”

Tilting my head slightly, I looked back at Clay, “You said there’re are rules against it, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why is that?”

Slowly, he began scratching his cheek, “...My thoughts would be it having to do with protecting the integrity of the swarm, or something similar.”


	22. Chapter 22

A look of concern crept over Maybella’s face, “Wouldn’t that mean you’d get in trouble for doing it then? Bonding with me?”

I felt a slightly nervous chuckle creep out of me, “Only if I ever showed my face to another sprite again, which I don’t plan on doing. In addition, sprites aren’t exactly the kinds of creatures to hang out close to a town like this one, so the likelihood of either of us finding another sprite here is pretty slim, to say the least.”

“What would happen if they did though?”

The thing about bonding with a non-sprite was that it was a tier- _one_ taboo, and the punishments for tier-one taboos were generally not publicly stated, in order to ensure that a sprite’s imagination of how gruesome the punishment was could do the trick by itself of keeping them from ever thinking about committing them. 

In honesty, I replied, “I don’t know. All I know for sure is that once we were to do it, to most fey folk out there they’d consider me a criminal. However,” I looked back at Maybella, “I’ve already been abandoned by my swarm, and they were the only home I had ever known before, so it’s not like I can return to them either way. Most other swarms would refuse to take in an abandoned adult sprite altogether. So the choices I have left don’t include the option of returning to a swarm either way, so it makes little difference if I’m a criminal or an outsider to them.” I smiled, partially to myself, partially for Maybella to see, “I don’t really mind being either, but as a criminal, I get to provide you with permanent access to magic at least, so for your sake, I’m willing to go through with it.”

A smile made its way on Maybella’s awestruck face, “Clay… that’s probably one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me.” My ears became flush with warmth as she said that. She smiled fully at me, “Alright, let’s do it then.”

I was slightly surprised when she said that, “...Really?”

“As long as you’re sure as well.”

I smiled. I was.


	23. Chapter 23

“Do we have everything?”

“Normally, yes, but…” I trailed off, “I’m still not sure if using your blood is necessary...”

Maybella was holding the end of a sewing needle over a candle’s flame in order to sterilize it, “Well, I don’t produce dust in the same way you do, so it’s either we try with a few drops of my blood or burn a lock of my hair.”

I pursed my lips. Despite the fact that I didn’t want to have to see Maybella prick herself, I knew that her blood likely had the best chances of actually succeeding in getting this to work. Ashes of her hair  _ may _ have worked, but they lacked certainty.

Cleaning the needle off with a rag to remove any ashes, she turned to me, “Alright, so how much do we need, then?”

Staring down at the cup which was half-filled with fresh water from the decanter, I had to estimate how much of her blood we’d actually need. In normal circumstances, we’d be using a lot less water and we’d only need to mix enough wing dust with the water till the water took on a different colour. In this case, there was a lot more water, but Maybella’s blood would stain the water a lot easier than wing dust alone ever could, “Just keep adding a few drops at a time until I tell you it’s enough.”

Pinching the needle in one hand, and using the thumb of her other hand to apply pressure to a blood vessel on her ring finger, she poked the needle hard enough in order to get a few drops of blood trailing out. Holding her finger over the cup, I watched as several red drops made their way into the water. In short time the water took a slight pink tint to it.

“Alright, that should be enough now.”

Moving her hand away from the cup and applying pressure to the small wound, she waited for me to do my part next. 

Walking to the other end of the table where there lay another half-empty cup, I turned myself to face away from it, my wings lifted just above the item. Batting them down repeatedly in several hard strokes, I turned back to look at the water, which now possessed a slight blue tint to it, “Alright, now we combine them.”

Maybella grabbed hold of my cup and emptied the contents into the one with her blood in it. Verifying that both contents had mixed properly, she responded, “Done.”

Nodding, I picked up the thimble we had set aside, dipping it into the main cup to catch as much of the tinted water as the thimble could hold, “We should be ready now.”

Picking up her own cup in one hand and holding her palm flat in the other, she waited for me to land gently in her empty hand, the thimble held in both of my own hands. 

“Do you remember all the words?” I asked her.

Maybella nodded, “You said it yourself that we technically write most of the important parts ourselves, so there’s no need to be too uptight about it.”

Smirking, I replied, “That’s true, but each party must still agree to each other's terms. If not it won’t work.” 

She smiled, “I know, I know. Don’t worry, I remember everything.”

I nodded, smiling, “Alright, begin.”

Taking a deep breath, Maybella started, “Please let me be your shelter.”

Following her lead, I continued, “Please let me be your light.” 

“You'll be safe; no one will find you, your fears will be far behind you.”

“Please let me be your freedom.”

“Please let me be your hope.”

“I'll be there; with you, beside you, my goal be to guard and guide you.”

“Then say you'll share with me this wish, this lifetime. Promise me that we’ll see all this through.”

“Then say you need me with you here, beside you. Promise me that all you say is true.”

In unison, we said at once, “That's what I promise you.”

Nodding my head, we both consumed the cups of liquid we each held in our hands. 

The room retained a calm silence in the air after we finished. Meanwhile, Maybella kept her eyes fixed on me, unsure if any movement on her part would disrupt the process. 

I smiled tentatively at her,  _ May? _

She looked at me again, then around the room,  _...Did I hear something just now? _

_ May! _

Maybella turned to look at me, unsure of what she was hearing,  _ Wait, am I…? _

I chuckled out loud,  _ Yes, you’re hearing right. It’s a slight side effect of the bonding process. Two-way telepathy.  _

Her eyes went wide, while her face clearly expressing her disbelief, “Really?!”

Letting out a light laugh in response, I nodded, “The bonding process shares our strengths, magic and thoughts. Though, with a bit of concentration, it’s easy enough to block your mind so I can’t hear you if you wanted. Same on my end.”

She shook her head, her golden hair smacking against her face, “Are you kidding?! This is amazing! We could talk even when I’m tending the shop, or even once father gets back.” Her face expressed a child-like wonder to it, “I couldn’t be more ecstatic!”

I smiled as I felt a slight pain in my chest. There had been one thing I hadn’t completely been honest about involving one of the details of the bonding ceremony, which was the fact that it was essentially the sprite-equivalent to what humans referred to as “marriage.” Based on our earlier discussions, I had known for sure that that was something Maybella had no interest in. 

Yet, I didn’t propose to bond with her with the intent of tricking her into something she didn’t know the specifics of. I’d given her all the critical details about what bonding meant and what would happen should we do it. I had simply omitted that one, minor detail. 

Either way, I had proposed it in order to help her realize her full magical potential, not for my own sake. I highly doubted I’d be the one to benefit more from our bond than she would in the long run.

All in all, I may not have been honest in my words.

But I was honest in my heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Would you believe me if I said that this was a backstory that was written for a Pathfinder character? That I actually handed off to my DM and said, "Here's all that you need to know about this character and their familiar."
> 
> The guy read it all, eventually.


End file.
